THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
December 21, 2024 at 18:13 JST
A child in Toyama Prefecture receives a flu shot. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The health ministry is sounding the alarm over a rapid increase in the number of seasonal flu cases.
The number of new influenza cases reported from Dec. 9 to Dec. 15 at around 5,000 designated medical institutions nationwide stood at 94,259, the ministry said on Dec. 20.
The national average per institution was 19.06 cases, more than double the 9.03 average of the previous week. The latest average also exceeded the 10 cases that is a benchmark for urging caution about the spread of seasonal flu.
Oita Prefecture had the highest average per medical institution at 37.22, followed by Fukuoka Prefecture at 35.4. The two prefectures on the main island of Kyushu had averages surpassing the benchmark 30 cases for “alert level.”
Forty prefectures exceeded the caution level, including Tokyo with an average of 17.36 and Osaka with 21.79.
Health authorities said 2,182 classrooms closed due to the large number of students with seasonal flu, double the 1,087 of the previous week and the 560 of two weeks ago.
Officials said 1,316 flu patients were hospitalized last week, up from 628 the previous week.
The spread of flu is returning to the pattern from before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Norio Sugaya, a doctor and an expert on infectious diseases who formerly practiced at Keiyu Hospital in Yokohama.
With the number of COVID-19 cases also on the rise, there were fears the two illnesses might spread simultaneously.
Sugaya urged the elderly to be especially vigilant because the fatality rate from seasonal flu and COVID-19 increases among those aged 65 and older.
He said measures against infections included ventilating rooms and washing hands, especially during the year-end and New Year season when people tend to hold family gatherings.
Sugaya said it was still not too late for those at higher risk of developing serious symptoms to get their flu shot.
(This article was written by Natsumi Adachi and Yoshinori Hayashi.)
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